by Sandy » Fri Nov 24, 2017 10:05 am
Didn't see anything that looked like ridicule. The MSNBC reporter wasn't ridiculing the position, nor did he necessarily agree, but was just reflecting the female guest's comments. She's from Vox.com, not MSNBC, and simply disagreed with the practice, no ridicule involved. Well, she did call it "old fashioned." And she did say it was, in her opinion, representative of sexism. So, she's reflecting the opinion of a majority of the American people. She used it as a means to critique the Trump-Pence administration not having anything close to a proportionate number of women in leadership roles. Nothing to warrant use of the word "stupid" unless you are intolerant of a view other than your own. Of course, if you're a conservative, anything that isn't gushingly positive toward your position is seen as a bias. Actually, the most caustic criticism of Pence's position came, expectedly, from Trump, who sees being alone with women who aren't his wife as an opportunity to grab parts of their body and use his celebrity status to get some sex. I guess he doesn't understand that there are men out there who don't grab women's genitals every time they have the chance, like he does.
Perhaps it is "old fashioned," and maybe in today's professional world, it isn't necessary, and in professional, business relationships, where women are equal, or are in positions of authority and leadership, it's not a problem anymore. But there's nothing wrong with being a little cautious, and a little old fashioned, so that you can sleep at night, and give someone else some peace of mind.